Water-meter.



W. '.I. MGCUURT & M. W. CDGHLAN. WATER METER.'

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 30,11909.

l ,0213145479a Patented Aug. 6, 1912.

z SHEETS-SHEET 1.

W. J. MGCOURT & M. W. COGHLAN.

WATER METER.

APPLIOATION FILED AUG. so, '1909.

vPatented Aug. 6, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

wrLLrAMi -.J. Mocounr Annnrcnannw. coeHLan, oncnroaeo, ILLINOIS.

WATER-METIER. I

nosas-ve.

specilicatin ofi-Letters Patentfl Patented Aug', 6, 1912.

Appncatimrfnea August 3 0, 1909. serial No. 515,204.

To'all whom it may concern:

Be it known that We, WILLIAM J. Mo-

I Cotni'r and MICHAEL W. COGHLAN, both citiz ens of the United States,and residents of Chicago, in the county oit Cook and State of Illinois,have invented certain new and useful` Improvements in Water-Meters, -of

`whichthe following isa specification.

Our invention relates to that type of meter devices extensively employedinconnection with measured water service, and has forits main'objects tosimplify and improve the construction of such devices, to increase their'degree of accuracy, Ito render them less liable to injury and damagethrough access of water to an'yyportion ofthe meter gear train, orthrough access of hot water to the piston chamber, and to render themmore nearly proof against fraudulent manipulation by dishonestconsumers.

Other minor objects and advantages of the invention will be readilyapparent to thoseskilled in the art from an inspection of theaccompanying drawings formingy a part of this specification andillustrating one` practical form in which the improvements constitutingour invention may be embodied, and in whichf- Figure l is a centralvertical section on line 1-1 of Fig. 2 through the meter casing auditsinlet and outlet assages,.with

the wabbling piston and reglstering mechanism appearing in sideelevation. Fig. 2 is a top plan view .of the parts appearing belowtheline 2--2 of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the'registeringmechanism with the-cap o r cover of the housing removed and the dialface of the meter partly broken away to fully disclose thespeedreducingfgeai* train. Fig. Alis a detail of the speed-reducing geartrain inside elevation, in section through its containingframe on line 44 of Fig. 3. Fig; 5.is an enlarged detail view in elevation of thedetachable packed bearing boss of the main drivingshaft of the meter;and Fig. 6 is Aan enlarged sectionaldetail of a portion ot the partitionplate which protects the gear trains of the meter from the water, moreparticularly showing the water-tight joints thereof. Referring to thedrawings, 5 designates the body portion and 6 the dome-shaped cover of asubstantially spherical housing or casing which contains the measuringde- `viceind registering mechanism and,- their' integral therewithsuitable supportin legs 7 and, surrounding its upper edge, a roadhorizontal ange 8 adapted to' register with Va corresponding vflange 9of the cover 6, the 'two being-securely united, with an interposedgasket 10, by means of bolts 11.- The cover 6 connections. y The bodymember 5 has formed has a central opening 12, covered Vby a glass disk13, directlyben'eath which is the dial :tace

14 of the register-clock. `The body member' 5 of the casing has integraltherewith the inlet and outlet nozzles 15 and 16, respectively,communicatingfreely with t-he inlet and discharge ports 17 vand 18,formed through the wall of lthehousing at diametrically' oppositepoints, and interiorly threaded to form couplings with' the usualwater-supply pipe .(not shown).

It will be noted that the coupling-nozzles 15 and 16 are of unequallengths, the nozzle surrounding the inlet port being shortened by anamount which is added to thenozzle which surrounds the discharge port toaccommodate acheck-vallve in the latter (hereinafter described) thischange being made without varying the length over all of the standardmeter from the face of the inlet to the face of the outletcoupling-nozzle. This construction not only aiiords room for a'check-valve in the discharge couplingnozzle without increasing thestandard length over all'of the meter, but it affordsk a ready means ofdetecting attempted fraud by turning the meter around, slnce an in-Spector upon finding the longer couplingnozzle connected to the inletpipey'fwould know that the meter had been tampered v with.

Cast on the inner surface ot the body member 5 at intervals are inwardlyprojecting lugs o-r ledges, indicated at 19 and 20, that forniv asupport for the piston chamber. This latter is, as usual, made in twohorizontal an axial spindle29 that projeycts through a central opening30 inthe uppe'r bearlng sections, the lower section 21 having an ezt-10tel-nal horizontal ,fiange 22 by which it is member 26, and carries theusual conical anti-friction roller 31, that drivingly engages ahorizontal arm 32 on the lower end of a vertical shaft 33, through whichthe movement of the pistonis transmitted to the superposed registeringmechanism.

The water flows in through the nozzle 15 and admission port 17 to thespace below and around the piston chamber, entering the latter throughthe admission port 34 (Fig. 2), flowing thence through the pistonchamber and actuating the piston, and emerging from the latter through aport 35 (Fig. 1), flowing thence through the outlet port 18 of thecasing and the outlet nozzle 16; it being understood that the inlet andoutlet ports 34 and 35 of the piston chamber are separated by a verticalradial partition, indicated by dotted lines at 36 in Fig. 2, the pistondisk 28, having a radial slot straddling this partition.

The mechanism as thus far described, with the exception of the lass topon the cover and the location of t e register-clock beneath said glasstop and the unequal lengths of coupling-nozzles, is an old and wellknown form of meter-actuating mechanism. An objection, however, thatinheres therein 'is found in the tendency of the water to 'flow upwardlyaround the flange 22 of the piston chamber and through the opening 30from the interior of the latter, thus flooding the entire casing, andnecessitating the making of 'the gears of the speedreducing gear-trainwholly of brass or some other rust-proof material; and, furthermore,particles of sand and grit carried by the water become lodged in andmore or less clog and interfere with the gearing, rendering themechanism liable to get out of order and inaccurately measure the iow ofthe water. A leading feature of our present invention resides in meanswhereby we effectively seal both the speed-reducing and register-clockgear trains of the meehanism from the water. This means compriseschiefly a partition member 37 having a central dome-shaped portion 37a,a narrow intermediate annular fiat portion 37b surrounding the loweredge of the domeshaped portion 37, and a downwardly offset outer annularportion 37. 'Phe intermediate portion 37b seats upon the upper edge ofthe piston chamber, forming a watertight joint therewith through theagency of an interposed gasket 38 (Fig. 6); and the outer annularportion 37 spans the space between the upper edge of the piston chamberand the upper edge of the body section 5 of the outer casing, thislatter beine preferably counterbored to for1n"\a let ge or shoulder 39on which the outer edfre of the said partitionunay scat in a idler-tightmanner through the agency of an 'intel-1 posed gasket ring 40. lt willthus be seenl bearing and the central opening 30 into 'the space betweenthe upper side of the piston chamber and the superposed partition nember37. To prevent leakage of water past the latter around the shaft 33,'wprovide the latter with a packed bearing iniflje form of a stufling box41, which, as best-shown in the detail view Fig. 5, is removably securedto the under side of the dome 37a around -the shaft 33, and effectivelyprevents the escape of water through the bearing of said shaft in saiddome. From the foregoing it will be seen thatl by the means The bearingof the hub 27 gear above described the space between the par-v titionmember 37 and the cover 6 of the outer casing is effectively sealedagainst access of water.

The upper end of the driving shaft 33 has fast thereon a pinion 42 which'meshes with and drives a spur gear 43, the shaft 44 of which isjournaled in and between'the member-3WL and the lower frame-plate 45 ofthe register-clock gear train, this latter being rigidly supported onthe member 37a in any suitable manner, as by legs 46. Fastv on the shaft44, above the spur gear 43, is

a smaller gear 47, which, in turn, meshes with and drives a stillsmaller gear 48 that is fast on the lower end of la short 'shaft49journaled in the plate 45. `The upper end of the shaft 49, between thelower and upper frame-plates 45 and 50 of the clock frame carries apinion 51, which, through a train of intermediate gears and pinions 52,53, 54, j

55, and 56, actuates the spindle of the units hand or pointer .of theregister-clock. In meters of this type it has heretofore been customaryto interpose a reducing train of gears of substantially the extentherein shown wholly between the shaft 33 and the lower frame-plate ofthe register-clock. By locating the greater part of' this reducing trainwithin the frame of the register-clock itself, we effect a considerableeconomy both of material and space, since"it allows the register-clock,as well as the speed-reducinggear train, to be set wholly vwithininstead of above the mam casing of the meter;l thus reducing the heightof the meter, and also,-

as we have .demonstrated by careful tests,

. affords increased accuracyy in" .the measure` ment of the water,especially under light pressures and small streams.

In the outlet nozzle 16 we provide a check valve shown at 57, which maybe of any suitable form or typethat will permit the water to flowoutwardly but will automatically arrest any flow of water in theopposite direction. The valve herein shown is Aa simple'hinged valvemounted across the mouth ot the outlet port 18 and adapted to closeagainst a stop 58 formed on the botp tom wall of thenozzle.

The operation of the meter is generally similar to that of meters ofthis type on which our present improvements are based; but theadvantages resulting from these improvements, as already briefly pointedout are, first, by reason of the solid partit-ion 37 extending entirelyacross the interior space of the outer casing above the piston chamber,with the bearing of the shaft 33 rendered water-tight by the stuiiingbox, the gear trains are preserved from injury through contact with thewater; second, by making the stuiiing box, which also serves in part 'asa bearing for the shaft 33, detachable, wear or injury thereof does notnecessitate the discarding ot the entire part to which it is attachedand its location wholly on the underside of the partition memberenhances the vertical compactness 'of the meter; third, the presence ofthe check valve in the outiow nozzle renders futile any attempt to beatthe device by reversing its position in the water pipe, and also savesthe piston from injury by the backing up of hot water and, inally, thedescribed arrangement and location of the speed-reducing gear trainenhances the accuracy, and makes it practicable to house theregisterclock within the main casing containing the measuring device.

Without, therefore, confining ourselvesto the exact details ofconstruction and arrangement shown and described, We claim: l 1. 4Tn awater meter, the combination with Van outer casing comprising a bodyportion having supply and discharge ports and an internal annular ledgeat its upper end, and a cover therefor provided witha glass top, of ameasuring device located in said body portion and having an upperannular edge spaced inwardly from said annular ledge -ot the outercasing, an impertorate partition member comprising a central domenshaped portion above lsaid measuring de vice, an intermediate datannular portion resting upon and forming a water-tight joint with theannular upper edge of said measuring device, and an outer annularportion spanning the space between the upper edge of said measuringdevice and thev opposite inner wall of said outer casing and at itsouter edge resting upon and forming a water-tight joint with saidannular ledge, and a registering mechanism mounted on the centraldome-shaped portion of said partition direct-ly beneath the glass top ofsaid cover,d substantially as described.

2. ln a water meter, the combination with a substantially sphericalouter casing comprising a body portion having diametrically oppositesupply and discharge ports and an internal annular ledge at its upperend, and a cover therefor provided with a glass top, ot a measuringdevice located in said body portion and having an upper annular edgespaced inwardly from said annular ledge of the outer casing, animperforate partition member comprising a central domeshaped portionabove said measuring device, an intermediate lat annular portion restingupon and forming a water-tight joint with the annular upperedge of saidmeasuring device, and a downwardly oiiset outer annular portion spanningthe space between the upper edge of said measuring device and theopposite inner Wall of said outer casing and at its outer edge restingupon and forming a water-tight joint with said annular ledge, and aregistering mechanism mounted on the central dome-shaped portion oflsaid partition directly beneath the glass top of said cover,substantially as described.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our invention, we havehereunto subscribed our names in the presence of two Witnesses.

WILLIAM J; MCCOURT. MICHAEL W. COGHLAN. Witnesses SAMUEL N. POND,MA'r'rIn B. BLIss.

